


Picking Up

by E350tb



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daycare, Babies, Future Fic, Lance can't drive, M/M, Other, smol beans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-12 22:50:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20163916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/pseuds/E350tb
Summary: Keith and Lance pick up their son from daycare.





	Picking Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [realfakedoors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/gifts).

> Happy birthday, best friend. :)

**Picking Up**

The rain was doing very little for the grime-covered windscreen, even with the heroic effort of the half-functional wipers. Lance drummed on the wheel of the old, rusty, baby blue Beetle as he waited for the light to turn green, the quiet sound of the evening radio programme providing a somewhat soothing atmosphere that mixed with the pitter-patter of rain. Normally this part of the city was nice, with its somewhat older buildings and its green parks, but the wet day had saturated the colours; more than that, it had slowed the traffic.

Keith had been working all day, and he seemed more than a little agitated as he waited for the light to change. He appeared to have entered a staring contest with the license plate of the car in front of him. It was one he was destined to lose - license plates do not blink.

“Ugh, _Arizonans_, what’re they even doing here?” he muttered under his breath.

Lance shot him a smile as he continued to tap on the wheel. The radio host was chattering on and on - “I hate you Wilko,” he heard Keith whisper - but the light had turned green, so it wouldn’t be long now.

They turned the corner, Lance neatly changing lanes behind a bus (he only cut off two people this time, score!) before turning again into the carpark of the R. F. Donnelly Daycare. He slipped into the first carpark he saw and clapped his hands together.

“_Aaaand _perfectly parked!”

“You’re over the line.”

“I am _not _over the line,” declared Lance, stepping out. “You’re just jealous of my parking…”

He stared at the car before climbing back inside, turning the engine back on.

“Point still stands,” he said as he straightened the car up. “Just… that was just a one-time thing, that’s all.”

Keith smirked as they climbed back out, walking briskly through the rain and into the building’s lobby.

The entrance was designed to be as inviting as possible, plastered with colourful pictures of lawyer-friendly equivalents of popular children’s characters; Tomas the Train, Pepper Piglet, Dana the Investigator and SpongeBrian RectangleTrousers - or, at least, that’s what Lance called them in his head. At the desk, tapping on the wooden surface with a pencil, was the receptionist - he looked up and put on his best ‘it is my job to look happy’ smile.

“Mr. McClain!” he said, his tone bristling with forced cheerfulness, “And this is your… _brother?_”

“_Husband,_” snapped Keith testily, ignoring Lance breaking into a fit of giggles next to him.

“Right, right,” nodded the receptionist, “Mr. and Mr. McClain… hold on…”

He looked down at his roll and found their son, nestled snuglysnuggly between McBadbat, C Jr and Northwest-Pines, A. He nodded and ticked the box.

“He’s just through there,” he said, “Just let Mr. Barriga know you’re here.”

Keith nodded, but Lance was already heading past the receptionist and towards the door, an enormous grin on his face. He pushed open the door, grinned widely and called out:

“Hey _Leo?!_ Guess who’s favourite papa is here!”

He was met with absolutely no response, but his grin never faltered as he swaggered into the room.

Leo sat in the corner of one of the playpens, building with the colourful foam blocks provided by the daycare. He was just finishing an ungainly looking tower when Lance and Keith arrived next to him. He turned, looked up and grinned.

“That’s right, Leo, it’s me, you’re pap-”

“_DAD!_”

Leo began to reach up to Keith, stretching his arms and making straining noises as he did. Keith gave him a small smile, kneeling down and picking him up.

“Hey there, kid,” he said.

“Right, that’s it, I gotta bribe him more,” declared Lance. “I’m making ice-cream sandwiches tonight…”

“You mean you’re buying them at the store?”

“...don’t tell him that, man.”

“Uh, escuse me?”

Keith and Lance looked down. A small, tan girl with a bob of blue hair was reaching up, her eyes watering slightly as she pointed to Leo’s tower.

“Weah not finished playin’,” she said sadly.

“Playing?” Lance grinned. “Did you make a new friend, Leo? Who is she?”

He smiled at his son, who blinked and huddled closer to Keith.

“Who is she, Leo?” asked Keith.

Leo looked up at his dad and smiled.

“Pwiya,” he replied.

Lance nodded, turning to the small girl.

“It’s okay, Priya,” he said. “We’re gonna drop Leo right back here tomorrow, okay?”

He ruffled her hair.

She started to cry.

“Whoa, whoa!” Lance withdraw his hand sharply, stumbling back and immediately tripping over the side of the playpen. He fell down hard on his back - dimly, he could hear a crowd of four-year-olds laughing at him.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door open once more.

“Priya, mom’s here, I…”

Lance turned to face the door properly. A blue woman stood in the door, staring at her crying child.

“Priya,” she said evenly. “Who made you cry?”

Lance swallowed hard as the little girl pointed to him. As she marched over to him, he suddenly felt very small indeed.

“Lapis! Let him explain!”

A taller person with curly black hair and a pink gem in their stomach stopped her before she could approach him (her foot _dangerously_ close to his nether regions.)

“We’re just taking our son home,” said Keith, “Your daughter seems like she’d rather if he stayed.”

The taller person cupped their cheeks and gasped.

“Oh my gosh! Lapis, Priya’s made a friend!”

Lance grunted and climbed to his feet.

“Vom,” said Priya, “this is Leo. He’s my new fweind.”

“Pwiya’s cool, dad,” added Leo. “She can make watah go… _fwoosh!_”

He waved his hands in the air.

“It’s not cool,” said Priya sadly, as Lapis picked her it, “Ever-one’s scared of me.”

“I’m not!” said Leo brightly.

Lance grinned, turning to Lapis and ‘Vom.’

“Water, huh?”

“She can’t really control her powers,” Lapis sighed. “So she scares off a lot of the other kids.”

“I think Leo’s her first friend!” added ‘Vom.’ “Hold up, scrapbook moment…”

“_Stevonnie_.” Despite her tone, Lapis smiled as her partner dug into their bag, pulling out their phone.

“Well, maybe we can arrange a playdate sometime?” asked Lance. “I’m home this weekend and was planning on taking the kids out to-”

“We have one child, Lance.”

“Yeah I know I was including you, _anyway_,” Lance continued, “we were planning on going to the park! Maybe Priya wants to come?”

Stevonnie snapped a picture of Priya and Leo before slipping their phone into their pocket.

“Well, what do you say, Priya?”

“Pwaydate! Pwaydate!”

“Pwaydate!” added Leo.

“Stevonnie, are you sure?” asked Lapis uneasily.

“Hey, you can come too if it’s a problem,” suggested Keith. “I mean, you’ll have to take your own car, but…”

“Oh!” Lance snapped his fingers. “That reminds me, we’re supposed to be at Hunk’s in half an hour! C’mon kiddo, we’re going to Uncle Hunk’s!”

“Unkie Hunkie!” exclaimed Leo.

He turned to Priya.

“I… I’ll see you tomowwoah?”

Priya smiled.

“See you tomowwoah Leo!”

“Well, it’s good to meet you,” said Keith. “We’ll see you on Saturday?”

“It’s a double-date,” replied Stevonnie.

“Not a triple-date?” asked Lance.

“They’re three years old,” said Lapis flatly.

“Good point.”

Lance grinned impishly as he led Keith and Leo back out the door, back past the bored receptionist and out into the parking lot. As Keith strapped Leo into his seat in the back, Lance ducked into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“So, good first day at daycare?” he asked.

Leo didn’t reply.

“Keith?”

“Good first day at daycare?” asked Keith.

Leo beamed.

“Yes!”

Lance grinned as Keith finished strapping Leo in, swiftly climbing into the passenger seat shortly after. For a few seconds they sat there, taking in the quiet ambience of the rain and the near-muted radio.

Then Keith’s eyes turned to the windscreen wipers.

“Uh, Lance?” he said. “Parking ticket.”

“_Parking ticket?!_” Lance snapped. “Aw, _c’mon!_ What the _fu_-”

Keith leaned over and beeped the horn to drown out his husband. Despite that, Leo snorted and chuckled.

“Papa used a dad word!”

* * *

“Well, nobody got poisoned, so that means it’s a good day, right?”

Lars Barriga walked through the empty daycare, his phone in his hand.

“I… _no mom_, I’m not adopting. I run a daycare, you think I want more little _shiiiiiiiiaaaangels_ in my life?”

He glanced at the unfinished tower and smiled softly.

“Oh yeah, totally hate ‘em,” he said. “Worst job ever. My life sucks.”

He walked over to the small pile of drawings, picking out the two crayon artworks at the top.

“Yeah, I’m gonna make something tonight - I’ve been promising Buck all month…”

He read the scribbled inscriptions next to the sketches under his breath.

_Papa and Dad._

_My Mom n Vom._

“Oh, before I forget,” he added. “Priya made a friend today…”


End file.
